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belongs
to the
Cathartidae
family or New World Vultures
and is
one of the largest flying bird in
the world.
Its range, as its name suggests, is in the
Andes, from Venezuela all the way south to Tierra del Fuego.
It is mostly found in the higher mountain regions but
in some areas, it moves down right to the Pacific Coast.
Its majestic proportions and elegance while in the air, gave it
its nickname King of the Andes
and the bird was venerated by
pre-Colombian cultures and was named the national bird of
Ecuador, being shown in the national flag's emblem. |
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It is
one of the largest flying birds in
the world with a wing span of
up to 3.5 meters (photo of this male taken at La Paz
Zoo in Bolivia). It can stand up to
1.25
meters and can weigh 12
kilograms. Its plumage
is black with white feathers on the upper wings and
a white thick ruff around its lower neck. |
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Condors are found in
Ecuador locally in the high Andean mountain regions where they look
for dead animals to feed on. They possess a keen
vision relying on that for locating carcasses in the open paramo
areas. Being vultures they feed almost entirely on
carrion but in rare cases when hungry, they may attack sick or newborn
animals. Otherwise they lack the ability to grab living animals with
their claws as do raptors.
They are the only American vultures where there is a marked
difference between males and females (see photos below). Young condors
are browner in appearance and lack the white ruff and the white
upper wings till they reach 4-5 years of age. The birds are usually quiet, only hissing at
carcass sites or when it feels threatened |
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Andean Condors are the only
American vultures of Ecuador which show a marked
difference between the males and females (sexual
dimorphism).
The male bird (to the left)
is bigger than the female (to
the right)
and has a
fleshy comb on its forehead and a pale red
face and dewlap
under its throat. The
female has light black face without comb or dewlap (both
pictures at La Paz Zoo). |
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Condors are monogamous birds living
together with its partner their whole life. Once a year the female
lays one egg in a nest along inaccessible
rock ledges. After an incubation time of two
months, the chick hatches
heavily downed but helpless. It stays then with its parents till it learns to fly and feed
for itself which may
take up to one year. Condors
may live for a long time, 40 years or longer. |
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The
condor soars in flight and is black underneath with only the
white ruff around the neck showing (right)
but observed from above (left)
the white upper wing feathers are easily recognized.
Primaries are usually widely spread as shown
in those pictures taken at 3900m on the road leading up to Guagua
Pichincha. Although very close to Quito, condors can be occasional
seen there. |
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The condor is very much in danger of disappearing from Ecuador with
no more than 100 birds are believed to be still living in the country. To the north, in Colombia and Venezuela, this grand vulture
is already on the verge of extinction. Only to the south in Peru,
Bolivia and Chile are their numbers still sufficient but even there
it is under great pressure as more and more of its habitat is
destroyed. This grand bird is also hunted by sportsmen
for trophy and by rural people for its meat and plumage and also
for rewards put out by ranchers, who pay for fear of losing
their precious cattle. Lots of damage to the population is done by
poisoning of carcasses, a common practice. It
can be hoped
that the Andean Condor does not go the way of its cousin, the
California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) in the United States. Only a few of those condors were left in 1988 and those
were then captured to be bred in captivity to be able to raise
sufficient numbers again for release into the wild. |
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The majestic condor
always played and always will play a role in the
imaginations of the native inhabitants.
Many legends are told
of them, e.g.
where condors come to the rescue of lovers and carrying
them away from social oppressions. That and more are expressed in the naive paintings of rural
folks like in this one which is popular in the Quilotoa
area (Painting by Humberto Latacunga who is
a prominent painter of the area). |
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ECUADORIAN SPECIES |
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Name |
Scientific |
Location |
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Andean Condor |
Vultur
gryphus |
Andes (paramo) 3000m - 4000m |
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Birding Vocabulary |
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Primary:
long and outermost flight feathers of the wing, attached to the
hand bones of the forelimb |
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